Are you a Costco shopper? Do you buy their jarred marinara? I used to but now I make my own. By doing so, I save $ and dare I say mine is better? Don't misunderstand me, I love Costco and shop there regularly. I just shop differently now. I found I pay on average $3 for a 32oz jar of their Classico marinara sauce. When I discovered they carry 106oz cans of crushed tomatoes for $2.69 (the main ingredient in marinara) I wondered, how hard can it be to make my own batch? As a bonus you can buy everything you need at one time to make this while you're at Costco buying the crushed tomatoes. How convenient is that? Another option is to buy smaller quantities elsewhere.
This recipe calls for one of those 106 oz cans. Have some for dinner and freeze the rest in zip lock bags. You'll end up with six quart bags for future use. They stack nicely and anytime you want marinara all you have to do is pull a bag out of the freezer and voila! Dinner is halfway done!
Here's what you'll need:
1- 106oz can of crushed tomatoes
4-6 oz cans tomato paste
1 cup dried parsley
4 garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
2 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3-1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups onion
1 3/4 cup white wine
Open up all of the cans. In a small bowl combine the dried herbs. Peel the garlic and get ready to make some marinara!
Heat the oil in a large pot.
While it's heating, peel one large onion. Give it a rough chop so it will fit in your food processor. You can hand chop everything, but why? Pulse it until the onion is diced but stop before it becomes mush. One large onion should net you 1 1/2 cups, minced. Don't fret if it's a up to a half cup over, that is not a problem.
When the oil is hot, stir in the onion and saute it for about five minutes or until it's translucent.
While the onion is sauteing (stir it occasionally so it doesn't burn) put 2 cans of the tomato paste, the dried herbs, salt & pepper and garlic into the processor. Mix it up good!
If you plan this right, you should be done with the mixing when the onions are sauteed. Add the mixture along with the other two cans of paste to the sauteed onions. Stir it all together so the garlic cooks and the onions are incorporated into the tomato paste mixture.
We like a little bit of spice in our food so I add about a palm's worth of crushed red pepper flakes. The sauce will definitely have a kick to it but you can leave it out if you don't like heat.
Let it simmer for 30-50 minutes and it's ready! I use an immersion blender to make it super smooth and creamy. You can also use a blender or food processor, but only in small batches. You don't have to do this at all, it will still be just as good, only slightly chunkier. When it's done, let it cool. Package it into zip locks bags and stack those puppies in the freezer. Next time you want some pasta, you're ready!
Oh, you can also buy the cans of tomato paste by the case at Costco too. My last trip there I purchased 4 of the 106 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, a case of tomato paste, a large container of dried parsley, salt, peppercorns (I grind my own pepper) and oregano. Depending on which state you live in, you can buy your wine there too!
The most important thing is: Make your cooking count! In this particular case you dedicate 1 hour to cooking, which includes the prep, and you have your sauce for tonight's dinner and six more! Think about it, only an hour, better tasting marinara and a boatload of savings. Oh and don't forget the bragging rights when you serve it up! It doesn't get much better than that!! Now these are ready for the freezer.
So start cooking and enjoy!
As always, your comments are appreciated and your results after trying the recipe are appreciated even more!
This recipe calls for one of those 106 oz cans. Have some for dinner and freeze the rest in zip lock bags. You'll end up with six quart bags for future use. They stack nicely and anytime you want marinara all you have to do is pull a bag out of the freezer and voila! Dinner is halfway done!
Here's what you'll need:1- 106oz can of crushed tomatoes
4-6 oz cans tomato paste
1 cup dried parsley
4 garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
2 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3-1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups onion
1 3/4 cup white wine
Open up all of the cans. In a small bowl combine the dried herbs. Peel the garlic and get ready to make some marinara!
Heat the oil in a large pot.
While it's heating, peel one large onion. Give it a rough chop so it will fit in your food processor. You can hand chop everything, but why? Pulse it until the onion is diced but stop before it becomes mush. One large onion should net you 1 1/2 cups, minced. Don't fret if it's a up to a half cup over, that is not a problem.
When the oil is hot, stir in the onion and saute it for about five minutes or until it's translucent.
While the onion is sauteing (stir it occasionally so it doesn't burn) put 2 cans of the tomato paste, the dried herbs, salt & pepper and garlic into the processor. Mix it up good!
If you plan this right, you should be done with the mixing when the onions are sauteed. Add the mixture along with the other two cans of paste to the sauteed onions. Stir it all together so the garlic cooks and the onions are incorporated into the tomato paste mixture. We like a little bit of spice in our food so I add about a palm's worth of crushed red pepper flakes. The sauce will definitely have a kick to it but you can leave it out if you don't like heat.
Let it simmer for 30-50 minutes and it's ready! I use an immersion blender to make it super smooth and creamy. You can also use a blender or food processor, but only in small batches. You don't have to do this at all, it will still be just as good, only slightly chunkier. When it's done, let it cool. Package it into zip locks bags and stack those puppies in the freezer. Next time you want some pasta, you're ready!
Oh, you can also buy the cans of tomato paste by the case at Costco too. My last trip there I purchased 4 of the 106 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, a case of tomato paste, a large container of dried parsley, salt, peppercorns (I grind my own pepper) and oregano. Depending on which state you live in, you can buy your wine there too!
The most important thing is: Make your cooking count! In this particular case you dedicate 1 hour to cooking, which includes the prep, and you have your sauce for tonight's dinner and six more! Think about it, only an hour, better tasting marinara and a boatload of savings. Oh and don't forget the bragging rights when you serve it up! It doesn't get much better than that!! Now these are ready for the freezer.So start cooking and enjoy!
As always, your comments are appreciated and your results after trying the recipe are appreciated even more!
Wow, Amelia ... yummy! That's a huge can -- how many tomatoes is that?
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